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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Gray resigns as Avella football coach

It might be hard to believe but Avella football was once a WPIAL small-school powerhouse. The Eagles tradition pre-1980 ranked right up there with any from the area. There were multiple WPIAL championships, several other championship game appearances, NFL players and Division I talent.

Things changed drastically.

If Avella isn't the graveyard of WPIAL football these days, it's awfully close. Avella's football plight is well-documented in recent years as the Observer-Reporter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and even the New York Times did multiple stories on the Eagles.

A couple years ago, it seemed the only logical solution was to drop football. Frank Gray changed that opinion.

Gray worked hard to restore numbers and some sense of competitiveness to Avella football, and Gray also did his best to keep the Eagles in the news. He pushed for players to earn all-district, and even all-state mention.

In three years, Gray went 3-24 but he and Avella earned the respect of playoff regulars like Clairton and Fort Cherry along the way.

Gray recently resigned from his position as Avella's football coach, stating that certain people in the community who were close to the football program were making the situation too difficult to handle. For a coach who once dressed a female cheerleader to put 11 player on the field in hopes of not forfeiting a season and the likely end of Avella football, those people must have been awfully overbearing.

Gray's resignation leaves Avella as the lone local school without a football coach heading toward the spring. The story states Avella hopes to fill the vacancy next month. That leads to this question, who wants the job?

17 comments:

Anonymous
said...

i don't get it.....i just got done reading the article mentioned here...how can a community be thankful to have their coach forced out when he has done so much to save their faltering football team and try to make it something to be proud of once again...what are these people thinking

Well not the lone local school, depending on what is local. Avonworth is also without a head coach or any real program right now. Don't ask why as the school is trying to keep things quiet. I'm sure there are reasons, but it would be nice to keep players and parents updated a little. We had to get the word from the post-gazette

I must say that Gray will be missed and I hope that whoever takes his place will continue to build on the foundation Gray left. I know this program was a whipping boy statistically. But these kids played with a lot of heart. And I honestly believe that its heading in the right direction. Avella had a ton of youth on its roster this past season.

avella is having its problems but when it comes to winning games they are not alone in the graveyard, over the past 2 seasonscanon mc 4 winsburgettstown 4 winsavella 3 winsbrownsville 3 winsbentworth 2 winswest green 1 winmapeltown 1 winare any of the coaches from the other schools who are having a hard time losing their jobs? or do people see it is not always the coach

You make a heck of a good point...some parents believe that if you put Jim Render, George Novak or Bill Cherpak in their school there will be overnite success...that is not the way it works...A foundation must be laid at all of those schools that anon @ 10:31 listed....it's not going to happen overnite...there must be a commitment at the grade school level to hard work and team play....then a player development phase at the middle school level and then a committed staff at the hs level to take them on...at best I'm talking 5-7 years to redevelop a "graveyard program"....and remember this...you can't win the Kentucky Derby with a mule!!! You must over time develop thoroughbreds!!!

As for Avonworth's coach resigned both his coaching and teaching position. That may be true or it may not be. Show me proof somewhere, right now it's all rumors other than the coaching job is open. Sadly the school has let these rumors fly for over 2 months without addressing it. Not that they have to say the exact reason but hey at least make some comment so the kids know what's up. Their off season program has had 1/10th of the number of players participate compared to last year. They should have been very strong this coming year, now? Who knows.

I don't see how you think avonworth was supposed to be so tough. They lost the heart and sole of the team with the two LBers they lost. Also lost 2 big lineman. The rb is ok but not great and the qb is very, very average

Sorry to hear about Coach Gray. I'll be honest, and Joey you and I discussed this, Avella had the best game plan against Clairton of any team outside of Riverside in the State Championship game. Avella, unfortunately, just didnt have the athletes to do anything with it. They actually moved the ball better in spurts than any team had all year. I know if you weren't at the game and look at the score you're going to think that sounds ridiculous coming from me but it's the truth.

Why would avonworth be so tough? 1st you mentioned loosing 2 big lineman. I think I know the 2 you are thinking of but one was injured all season and never contributed. The other had size (not always the heart) and will be missed. Yes They lost one really good lb but that is one position and they have a few kids who can step up. As for the QB, yes average last year, hoping for him to step up this year. The RB? VERY GOOD. They have a great runner back who was injured the last 2 games and a very good freshman last year.....just hope he learns to hold onto the ball a little better with some playing time. I say tough team since they only lost a few very good players but pretty much every team looses that each year. They have the bulk back and many of the backups got in alot this past year.

On avonworth coach resigning, I completely agree. Everyone knows that something happen, the school threatened to fire him, and he resigned. Is it justified? Who knows, but I knew the coach and he was a standup guy that would have had my backing. The entire programs issue is how the school handled it. While many details are private (he has since been hired at other school as teacher and head coach), there was no acknowledgment by the school or plan keep the sport moving forward. They basically put the football program on hold for 2 months (and counting). No one running anything. A year prior those kids were in the weight rooms and conditioning. Even now there is no direction and kids are loosing focus.

About the blogger

A devoted fan of the Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, 1990s rap and Tom Petty, Mike Kovak works as a sports writer for the Observer-Reporter, a newspaper located in Washington, Pa. Kovak covers high school sports – from football to softball and everything in between. He's known to appear at the random Pitt football and men's basketball game or the occasional West Virginia game and previously helped Steelers beat writer F. Dale Lolley at home games. When not tracking college basketball – his sport of choice – or watching That 70s Show reruns, Kovak is busy playing Mr. Mom for his daughter, Anna Noel Kovak.

Kovak was hired by the Observer-Reporter in 1999. He previously spent two years at the Beaver County Times and four months as an intern at the Tribune-Democrat, located in Johnstown.

Kovak invites any and all movie buffs to exchange lines from classic comedies, such as Anchorman, Caddyshack and The Hangover.

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